Читать книгу So Dark The Night - Margaret Daley - Страница 8

Emma St. James drove down the lane that led to her brother’s cabin on an Illinois lake. The overhanging oak and maple trees shaded the road, heightening the darkness beginning to creep over the landscape with the approach of dusk. When she pulled up to the side of the large log cabin, she parked in the back next to Derek’s black Ford truck and rested her forehead on the steering wheel for a moment. Exhaustion clung to her like a second skin.

The past few weeks had been frantic, nonstop work, one photo shoot after another, that had left her little time even to sleep. She’d been thankful when her older brother had insisted she spend a few days with him during a brief pause in her work schedule. Derek could always make her feel better, even if his invitation had seemed strange to her. He needed to talk to her about something important and hadn’t wanted to do it over the phone.

Climbing from her yellow Thunderbird convertible, Emma stretched her aching muscles and rolled her head in a slow circle. The long drive from New York had finally caught up with her, and all she wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. She didn’t think she could put two coherent sentences together. She and her brother would have to catch up in the morning.

She reached behind the driver’s seat and plucked her red leather purse from the back, then headed for the front porch. That was when she spied the white Firebird on the other side of the cabin, partially hidden behind some large honeysuckle bushes, their scent perfuming the cooling spring air. Strains of classical music wafted from the cabin. Company? That was the last thing she wanted at the moment. She moved toward the window near the door to see who was visiting her brother. After the past week of avoiding the press who wanted to verify yet another false story about her, she wanted to make sure it wasn’t a reporter who had somehow found out where she would be for the next few days.

Peering into the cabin, she noticed two men, one vaguely familiar, hovering over her brother, who sat in a straight-backed lattice chair, his wide eyes fixed on the taller of the pair.

I’ve seen that man somewhere. But where?

With fear stamped on his features, Derek was talking and shaking his head. That was when she noticed her brother’s hands were tied behind his back. Emma opened her purse and stuck her hand inside, fumbling in the depths. Lipstick. Compact. Wallet. She looked down. Where was her cell phone? A slapping sound brought her attention back to the men in the cabin. The tall, thin man struck her brother across the mouth a second time, his head jerking back. Blood gushed from between his lips and rolled down his chin. Emma gasped, starting for the door.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the flash of metal in the short, bulky man’s hand as he came forward. Paralyzed, she stopped.

What in the world was going on? Was that a gun?

Again she delved into her oversized purse, trying to find her cell phone. She needed help and hoped she could get some before—

The sound of a gunshot rocketed through her. As if hit, she staggered back, dropping her bag.

Through the window she saw her brother slump over. A scream welled up inside her. Her hand over her mouth, she backed away, desperate to keep the scream inside.

No!

She blinked as though that would erase the horror she saw through the window. Taking another step back, her gaze glued to the scene inside the cabin, she bit down on her hand. The ropes about her brother’s chest held him up, but the bright red of his blood filled her vision. Tears sprang to her eyes. She had to get help.

Please let Derek still be alive.

She spun around to flee and bumped into a bench, sending it flying off the porch. The crashing sound reverberated through her mind. She glanced over her shoulder. The tall man looked up, his cold, dark eyes fixed on her. She shuddered.

Run! her mind shouted.

She leaped off the porch and started for her car. Halfway there she realized she had no keys. They were in her purse on the porch! Frantic, she slowed a few paces, scanning the terrain.

No time to get the keys. Where could she hide? The woods? The shed? Behind the cabin?

The banging of the door against the logs of the wall sent her racing toward the woods. The report of a gun pierced the air at the same time a bullet hit a tree trunk a few feet to her left, pieces of bark flying outward. With pounding feet that matched the racing of her heart, she tore into the forest, praying the dark shadows enveloped her and hid her from their view. Gasping for air, she kept running, afraid to stop and find a place to hide for fear they would find her.

Branches ripped at her face and body. She stumbled and fell to her knees. Pain shot up her legs. Pushing herself to her feet, she clawed her way up a small ridge, littered with underbrush and stubby trees. One of her sandals caught on a limb. She tugged, the shoe coming off and tumbling down the incline. Emma stared at the bright red leather that reminded her so much of the blood she’d seen on Derek. She shoved that image away. She couldn’t think about that now. She had to get him help. She had to stay alive.

She started back down the ridge. In the distance she heard the two men tearing through the woods. Not far away. No time to get her shoe. Spinning back around, she looked about her to see which way she should go. Deeper into the woods? Or toward the highway?

The crashing sound of the men tracking her, who obviously didn’t care if she heard them, dominated her thoughts as she tried to decide. The closer the sound came, the more frenzied her heart beat. Panting, she headed for the darkness of the denser trees on the other side of the ridge, away from the highway.

Deeper and deeper she pushed into the forest. Something sharp cut the bottom of her bare foot. She didn’t stop to see what it was. She kept going, an ache in her side intensifying and rivaling the pain from the wound on her heel.

The farther she went, the darker it became until she could barely make out the area ten feet in front of her. Her lungs burned. Her eyes stung from the tears that loomed just beneath the surface. Holding her side, she stopped by a large trunk, leaning into it for support as she drew in large gulps of air. Her legs quivering, she listened.

For a few seconds silence tantalized her with visions of a successful escape. Then the sound of breaking twigs and a muffled voice resonated through the trees. They had followed her into the woods. They weren’t far behind.

Scanning the black curtain around her, she glimpsed the faint outline of some large bushes. She dove toward them, seeking their shelter. Darkness and leaves cocooned her in safety. The scent of earth and vegetation peppered the air. She waited.

An eternity later, she heard plodding footsteps approaching. Every muscle tensed to the point of pain. She waited, not even daring to breathe much.

“Ouch! Watch it, will you?”

The rough voice pierced the quiet and sent Emma’s heart racing even more. Not far away. She squinted and peered out into the gloom. Nothing but faint shapes of trees surrounded by blackness.

“We ain’t gonna find her. Let’s get back and check her out. Probably Derek’s latest girlfriend. Fancy car means she has to have money.”

“Will you shut up? I can’t hear a thing over your constant chattering.”

The man who belonged to the rough voice must be the leader, Emma thought and decided it was the tall man she’d seen at the cabin, the one with the cold, black eyes. She’d never forget those eyes as he’d stared at her through the window, Derek’s limp form next to him. Again she pictured the man with the chilling eyes. The niggling sensation she’d seen him before wouldn’t loosen its grip on her thoughts.

Where have I seen him? Who is he? Why did they shoot my brother?

Oh, Derek. Tears crowded her throat. What if her brother was still alive? She needed to get him help, and time was against her.

“What’s the point? It’s too dark anyway,” the other one said, his voice higher. It riveted Emma back to the problem at hand.

If she was right, that was the man who’d shot her brother. Throat tightening, she squeezed her eyes closed, trying to keep the tears inside. She didn’t have time to think beyond getting to safety. She’d fall apart later.

“We need some flashlights. I have one in the car and I bet there’s one at the cabin.”

The voices were nearby. Emma shrank back deeper into the underbrush. Her heartbeat roared in her ears so loud she couldn’t make out what the short, bulky man replied.

She tried to run through a relaxation technique she used when stressed, but nothing took the edge off. Even taking deeper breaths didn’t calm the loud thumping of her heart. She clamped her hands over her ears, her eyes scrunched closed. Like a child playing peekaboo, she hoped since she couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see her.

Minutes ticked away. She waited. Slowly, she opened her eyes and dropped her hands to the damp ground. Nothing…but the wind rustling the leaves on the bush, a curtain of black shrouding her.

She crawled forward from the depths of the thick underbrush and scanned the darkness. Still, silence greeted her. No sound other than nature’s. A bird chirped. A frog croaked. Crickets trilled. The normal sounds of a forest.

She inched farther out of her shelter. She needed to get to the highway for help. Thankfully, she knew the woods surrounding the family cabin and realized if she circled around to the right she could reach the highway, flag down a car and escape the two men—and maybe, just maybe, help her brother.

With her eyes adjusted to the dark, she picked her way through the maze of trees toward what she believed would be the highway. The continual hammering of her heart and the shallow gulps of air made each step difficult. The trembling in her legs spread upward to encompass her whole body. Her pace slowed, shock slipping through her defenses.

Again a sharp object pierced the bottom of her foot. It was too dark even to see where she was stepping. Can’t stop. She focused all her concentration on lifting one foot and placing it in front of her. Not far, she was sure. She was now glad of all those times she and—a lump lodged in her throat when she thought of her brother. She and Derek had loved to play hide-and-seek in these very woods as children.

The memory produced a tear. It leaked out of her tight restraints and rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away. No time. Later. Have to keep going. Get help.

In the distance she heard a car zoom by. She wanted to quicken her pace, but her legs felt as though she wore cement blocks for shoes. Through the trees she saw headlights arc across the terrain and disappear. A hundred feet. Safety. The highway was the only way into town. Her best chance to escape.

Then behind her she heard the two men and saw the beams from their flashlights circling the area in front of them. Her gaze was drawn toward their lights. She was amazed at how fast they had returned. She plowed ahead, forcing herself to go faster. Blocking from her mind the searing pain in her legs and lungs, she limped toward the sounds of passing cars. Fifty feet.

The ribbon of asphalt cut through the forest. Slicing lights illuminated the trees on the edge of the highway. She pushed herself harder. Thirty feet.

The noises behind her grew louder. A light touched the area to the side of her. Then it swept over her as though icy fingers scraped across her. A shout slashed through her thundering heartbeat and sent terror straight to her core.

“There! She’s almost to the highway.”

“Get her,” the rough voice commanded off to the right.

Suddenly Emma didn’t see any more headlights on the highway. Darkness surrounded her. Then the beam behind her found her again. She darted to the left, trying to evade the brightness. Ten feet.

In the distance the sound of a car filled the night with hope. She plunged from the cover of the trees and headed toward the headlights barreling down upon her.

A shot rang out from the forest. Panicked, she raced forward.

“Come on, Reverend Fitzpatrick. We’re gonna be late. Five miles over the speed limit isn’t really breaking the law,” Brent Hardwood said over the loud music playing on the radio.

Colin Fitzpatrick threw his passenger in the front seat a grin. “Is that your reasoning? No wonder the sheriff has given you several tickets in the past few months.”

“Yeah, Brent. One more and your license will be suspended.”

Brent twisted around in the seat. “You’re no better, Jamie. You just haven’t been caught. It wasn’t that long ago you were drag racing on Miller Road.”

“Guys, I don’t think I want to hear this. I might be obliged to inform a few parents. And since Neil’s dad is the sheriff, it might prove to be a bit awkward.”

“Isn’t this covered under some confessional rule?” Neil Logan asked from the back seat.

Colin laughed. “No, afraid not.”

“Well, it should be,” Brent mumbled, his arms folded across his chest. He leaned forward and turned up the radio even more. “This is one of my favorite songs.” He began tapping the dashboard to the beat of the music.

Colin settled back, listening to the ribbing among the three teenage boys, each trying to talk over the radio. Best friends. Members of his church. Leaders of the youth group. Today’s conference at Central City had been a success. He was already anticipating the young men working with the rest of the youth group to teach them the conflict resolution techniques they had learned.

Maybe he could use the techniques on some of the conflicts he’d found himself caught up in lately. What he really needed was some evasive tactics or disappearing ones. He thought of Mrs. Reed’s little matchmaking maneuver last weekend with her niece who had come to visit for the month. He’d barely escaped that trap. He’d been married once to a wonderful woman. He didn’t see himself marrying again.

“Reverend, my big sis wants you to come in after you drop me off.”

Brent’s statement caught Colin’s full attention for a few seconds. He glanced at the seventeen-year-old and said, “It’s been a long day and tomorrow is a school day.”

“Mary will be mighty disappointed. I think she baked you a German chocolate cake. She promised me a slice if I could get you to come in.”

“While I appreciate—”

Something darted out of the trees and plunged toward his car. Colin slammed his foot on the brake at the same time the person—a woman—halted in the middle of the road, her shocked expression reflected in the glare of his headlights.

Emma stopped on the pavement, the car careening toward her. Paralyzed for a few precious seconds, she stared at the set of bright lights coming at her. Move! her mind screamed. Now!

Life flooded back into her legs, and she began to lunge toward the opposite side of the road—away from the killers. Pain exploded in her left shoulder, spinning her back into the path of the car.

Colin swerved the wheel of his SUV hard, trying to avoid the woman. Just as he thought he would, she twisted back toward his car. Even though his vehicle was slowing down, he couldn’t stop fast enough. The shouts from his passengers and the loud music drowned out the sound of him striking the person, but he felt the impact as though it vibrated through him to his soul. She reeled off the front end of his bumper while he fought to control his SUV. Fishtailing a few feet farther, his car finally came to a stop.

“Is everyone all right?” Colin checked his passengers, his hands shaking so much they slipped from the wheel.

“Yeah,” Brent answered, straining to see out the window.

“Man! What was that? A deer?” Jamie Zamets asked, his eyes wide as he craned his neck around to see behind them.

“Do you think it’s dead?” Neil asked from the back seat, the shaken tone to his question making it come out as a whisper.

“It was a woman,” Brent said, unbuckling his seat beat.

“Stay put.” Colin forced all the command he had learned in the army into his voice. He was afraid of what he would find when he got out and he didn’t want the teenagers to see.

Colin hurried from the vehicle, slamming the door to emphasize the fact that he wanted the boys to stay in the car. He ran around the back of his vehicle and came to a skidding stop six feet from the rear bumper.

Lying on the pavement was a slim, petite figure, dressed in pants and a shirt, the darkness obscuring the woman’s features, the illumination from the taillights not strong enough for him to assess her injuries. Colin knelt to feel for a pulse. A faint beat beneath his fingertips sent relief through him. The scent of blood assailed his nostrils. She was alive but for how long?

“Rev, I thought you might need—” Brent’s sentence came to an abrupt halt as the flashlight he carried caught the victim in its glare.

“She’s beautiful,” the teen finally murmured.

Colin’s gaze skimmed over the woman’s face, bleeding from scratches that had nothing to do with the wreck. Beneath the cuts, he had to acknowledge, were very pleasing features, framed by a mass of long black curls. “Here, let me have that and you get back in the car.”

The slamming sound of two doors slashed through the silence. Colin knew there was no way he would be able to protect them now.

“Is she dead?” Jamie asked, coming up beside Brent.

“No. Don’t you all know how to follow directions?”

“Thought you might want my cell phone, Reverend.”

Colin heard Neil’s words, but he felt as if he was back in the army, bending over a wounded comrade, because what riveted his attention now was the gaping hole in the young woman’s shoulder, blood oozing out of it and pooling on the pavement. His head came up. He scanned the terrain alongside the highway, trying to peer into the dense woods, but he couldn’t see anyone, only dark shadows cast by the tall pines and oaks.

From the way she had spun, the shot had to have come from the right side of the road, probably from that thick line of trees, not far from his car. Too close. Hairs on the nape of his neck tingled. Danger resounded in his mind.

“Get back into the car,” he said in the toughest voice he could muster.

“But—” Brent started to protest.

“Go. I’ll take care of her. Call for help, Neil.”

At that moment a pair of headlights crested the hill and came toward them, followed by another set. Colin shifted his body to shield the woman as the boys trudged back to the car, muttering their disappointment. The tension in his body relaxed a little when he heard the doors slamming on his SUV.

Dear Lord, please protect us from whoever shot this woman. Let this be help arriving. Keep her and the boys safe.

He used his flashlight to flag down the approaching vehicle, hoping there would be safety in numbers, all the while keeping his body between the line of trees and the woman lying on the pavement.

“I might be able to hit her, Roy,” the stocky man whispered from the dark cover of the woods.

Hunkered down next to him, Roy took in the scene as more and more people stopped to help the man in the car. “Too risky. If she makes it, we’ll take care of her later. Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He tugged on Manny’s gun arm.

“I know I can.”

“Listen, you have what, a few bullets left? There’s a time to take a stand. And a time to retreat.”

“But she saw us.”

Roy noticed the large man who’d hit the woman raise his head and look toward where they were hidden. Somehow he got the distinct impression the man had heard them even though they were seventy feet away and talking so low it would take someone with super abilities to hear them. For a few seconds he felt as though it were noon and they were exposed for all to see—at least, for the man who drove the SUV.

A third car stopped at the scene of the wreck. Too many people. Whenever he got an itch that needed scratching, Roy knew it was time to cut his losses. He slipped back into the denser underbrush, keeping his eyes trained on the large man hovering over the woman. There was something menacing about him, Roy thought, remembering when the man discovered the woman had been shot. Alertness had stiffened him, his sharp gaze taking in his surroundings as if guns and shootings were an everyday occurrence for him.

A few yards into the woods Roy pivoted and headed back toward the cabin, pleased to hear his partner following. Their employer wouldn’t be too happy to hear about this, especially when they hadn’t been able to discover the packet they’d been sent to retrieve. Manny might think the woman posed a problem for them, but Roy knew otherwise. Their employer didn’t take too kindly to people who messed up.

The woman’s eyes snapped open and looked right at Colin. The honey-brown of her gaze pinned him. He leaned forward to listen to her whispered words.

“Help…Derek.”

“Where is he?”

She blinked. Terror and pain twisted her features. “I can’t…” She licked her lips. “I can’t…see.” She tried to move, winced and groaned. Her eyelids slid closed. “Derek. Help…him.”

“Where is he?” Colin turned so his ear was only inches from her mouth.

“Plea…” Her voice faded, only a faint wisp of breath touching his ear.

Colin straightened, scanning the faces of the people standing nearby in a semicircle. “Is anyone a doctor?”

A woman, who had just arrived, stepped forward. “I’m a nurse. Let me see what I can do.”

The middle-aged nurse assessed the damage while removing her sweater and pressing it into the woman’s shoulder to stop the flow of blood. “Has anyone called 9–1-1?”

“Yes.”

“This woman was shot. What happened?” The nurse looked up at Colin.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

The sound of sirens mingled with the whispers of the people gathered. Another car stopped and two men got out, hanging back from the crowd around the woman.

“Is either one of you a doctor?” Colin asked the new arrivals, hearing the desperate edge to his words. This woman couldn’t die. Please, God, keep her alive. I’ve seen enough people dying to fill five lifetimes. Memories threatened to swamp him with emotions he never wanted to relive.

The taller of the two said, “No, sorry.”

Colin returned his attention to the woman on the pavement, her petite frame silhouetted by the headlights from several cars. Her dark pants were torn in places as well as her short-sleeved shirt.

She wore only one sandal. He glanced around for her lost shoe. He didn’t see it. He examined the bottom of her bare foot. Cuts and dirt greeted his inspection as though she had been running through the woods without one shoe for a long distance. Red-painted toenails taunted him with the mystery that surrounded this woman.

Who was Derek?

Who had shot her?

Where had she come from?

The shriek of the sirens came to a stop as the ambulance pulled up. Colin moved back to allow the paramedics to examine the woman. A sheriff’s deputy, a member of his congregation, climbed from his cruiser and walked toward him.

“Can you tell me what happened here, Reverend?”

The three teenagers clambered out of the SUV and hurried toward the deputy, all talking at once.

Colin waved at them to be silent. “John, I was driving home from the youth conference when this woman ran out in front of my car. I thought I was going to be able to avoid her until she spun around and lunged into my path.”

Brent nodded. “She came right at us. Someone shot her!”

“Shot? Then this isn’t a car accident?” the deputy asked.

“No,” all the teenagers answered.

“Excuse me. I need to call this in. Get more help out here.”

While the deputy walked to his cruiser, Colin’s focus shifted to the woman being wheeled to the ambulance. He wished he could follow the ambulance to the hospital. If he hadn’t been on the highway, would she have made it safely to the other side? That was a question he was afraid would plague him for a long time. She had been shot, but how extensive were the injuries caused by his SUV? He couldn’t stop the questions from coming. Who was she? Who was Derek? Who shot her? Why?

When the deputy came back, he said, “You all will have to go down to the station to make a statement.”

“Even them?” Colin hated the boys being involved.

“I’m afraid so. Neil’s dad will be out here shortly. He’ll take you in and get your statements.”

Brent, Jamie and Neil looked at one another, their eyes wide.

“Can we call our parents to tell them we’ll be late getting home?” Jamie held up his cell phone.

“Sure.” John Edwards pulled Colin over to the side away from the three teenagers. “Did you see anyone chasing her?”

“No, everything happened so fast.” In his mind Colin could see her frozen in his headlights for a few seconds before she started moving again. Then the awful moment when she spun back toward him, her eyes wide with terror. “John, there may be someone else in trouble. Someone named Derek. Before she passed out, she said something about Derek needing help. At least, I think that was it.”

“Derek St. James? He has a cabin not too far from here. I hadn’t heard he was back in town, though.”

“Maybe that’s who she was talking about.” Colin shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll check it out after this scene is secured.”

“Be careful. Someone in the woods has a gun.” Colin realized he was stating the obvious, but he couldn’t shake the feeling someone was watching him. Chills encased him in a cold sweat. He threw a last glance toward the area where he thought someone had hidden and shot at the mystery woman. “Look over that way. I think that was where the shot came from.”

“I thought you didn’t see anything?”

“Nothing like a person or a flash when the gun went off. I didn’t even hear anything with the music on in the car and the windows up. I was too busy trying to avoid the woman. But from the way she spun and fell, that has to be the place. Good cover for a shooter.” He knew more than he wished about guns, cover and death.

“I’ll have the crime-scene boys check it out.”

Heading toward the teenagers, Colin took a calming breath, a coldness embedded deep in his bones. Crystal Springs might be near Chicago, but crime rarely occurred in his little corner of the world, one of the reasons he had been so attracted to the town. It had always been a safe place to raise a family. But the shooting of this woman had altered all that. Deep in his gut he felt their peaceful little slice of heaven was about to change. Icy tentacles burrowed deeper. He shook, his hands balled at his side so tightly that pain zipped up his arms.